Elon Musk announced that Vine-a short-form video platform-is back in action on his social network, X. This news follows an ongoing TikTok ban in the US, which handed Musk a great timing to come in and fill a specific need for a short-form video app.
If you don't remember, Vine was a platform that gained a dedicated following during its eight-year run before it suddenly shut down. It had six-second videos that challenged users to be creative.
We’re looking into it
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 19, 2025
Musk's decision to revive Vine is a bold move, as the short-form video market is dominated by TikTok and Instagram. Earlier, Elon Musk shared his vision for X —an "everything app" that will supposedly include the widest possible set of services, from messaging and payment to video sharing and entertainment.
However, this is not the first time Elon Musk has announced the return of Vine. In 2022, Musk posted a poll asking if users wanted Vine back. According to previous reports, Vine's code would require "a lot of work" to get back up and running. But if the service were to relaunch, it could compete with TikTok.
Musk is hopeful that Vine fits within the X ecosystem. In strategy, the approach is rather similar to other platforms such as Instagram, where sharing of short-form videos has been fitted within existing offerings through features such as Reels.
But perhaps more interestingly, the timing of Vine's resurrection happens in conjunction with TikTok's return to the US market. After negotiations with former President Donald Trump, TikTok recently announced it is working to resolve the outstanding legal and regulatory issues that led to the ban.
It will be quite interesting going forward to see what other ideas Elon Musk has in mind for making X better.
21 Comments - Add comment